Hasta La Ideas

If you are ever lost while trekking in harsh weather in Iceland, then you should pray and hope to find refuge in a glamping oasis like the Skyli Trekking Cabin. Skyli means “shelter” in Icelandic and it can provide shelter to 15 mountaineers at a time. The angular structure features four gabled roofs and resembles a tent but is actually clas in a steel facade to protect you from the weather. The bright blue color makes it easily visible in the rugged landscape while also paying homage to the architecture of the country’s capital. The designers imagine all components being pre-fabricated so that they could be transported flat, winched underneath a helicopter, and constructed in situ – a process Utopia Arkitekter estimates would take between two and three days.

Swedish firm Utopia Arkitekter employed a team of innovative architects that worked with sustainable materials in their buildings. “Skýli is designed for pristine environments where sustainable development is of the highest importance. Materials need to be eco-conscious, while also resistant to extreme weather,” explained Mattias Litström, founder and creative director of Utopia Arkitekter.

The interior is lined with cross-laminated timber and features enough fold-out beds for up to 15 people, water, power, and even emergency supplies. Beneath each peak, large triangular windows take advantage of the surrounding scenery. Its prefabricated design allows for materials to be easily transported by helicopter. Once they’re delivered, the assembly can be completed in as little as a couple of days.

These pitched roofs give the building a tent-like shape. The shape also resembles traditional Icelandic huts, whilst the bright blue is a nod to the colorful architecture of Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland. The Skýli trekking cabin features sharp pyramidal shapes, a strong, durable, and stable structure with several practical details. The triangular gables resemble a classic tent, the most basic shelter used by trekkers worldwide.

GreenCoat color-coated steel will be used in the roof because it is currently the most sustainable color-coated steel product on the market, using Swedish rapeseed oil in the coating instead of fossil-based oils. Since Skýli will be built in the mountains or in harsh, cold-weather environments, choosing materials for extreme weather is another important factor. Here, GreenCoat® steel products fulfill the highest demands.

They deliver extreme durability, resistance to corrosion, and long color retention. Furthermore, they provide building specifiers with a significantly lighter material compared to alternative solutions and have a low-temperature elongation to guarantee a clean look without buckling or deformation, for years to come.

In the gap between the steel exterior and the wooden internal walls, the designers have included a space for visitors to wring out wet or muddy clothes, as well as room for a composting toilet. Rainwater running down the sloping roof could be collected in self-draining tanks in the outer shell, providing the cabin with water that could be used for washing, or purified for cooking and drinking.

Solar panels and a battery offer enough power to charge devices and light the interior in good weather. A hand-crank generator would provide a backup on darker days, but would also double as an emergency beacon if occupants needed to call for help. In the case of an emergency, the cabin would be kitted out with basic medical supplies and a stash of food rations, stored under the benches in the dining area.

Both the inner shell and the furniture – designed to fold flat for ease of transportation – would be made from cross-laminated timber (CLT), a high-strength engineered wood. Combined with the lightweight steel shell, it would make the cabin easy to maneuver into position. The CLT and steel would also provide insulation, along with the triple-glazed windows.

A series of plinths would lift the structure off the ground, providing it with a flat and stable base, whilst minimising its impact on the natural terrain. The brilliant blue Skýli color of the roof, which will be made from GreenCoat® color coated steel, from SSAB, represents the Nordic light and ensures that Skýli is visible in the Nordic landscape. It will make the cabin easy to find, while at the same time creating a strong symbol for shelter and safety.

Designer: Utopia Arkitekter

Dezeen Showroom: Danish brand TexStyle has launched Dolly Recycled fabric, a textile that looks like wool but is entirely made of recycled plastic bottles.

Designed by TexStyle founder Søren Møller, Dolly Recycled fabric has a softness and texture that is characteristic of wool and a composition that is 100 per cent recycled polyethylene terephthalate, known as PET.

Thirty empty 1.5-litre bottles go into making each metre of the fabric. TexStyle estimates that an accent chair upholstered in Dolly Recycled would use around 75 bottles.

The brand abides by international recycling standards and has been investing in research and development into recycled polyester yarns since 2018.

It says that used as upholstery, Dolly Recycled fabric continues the innovative values of nordic furniture while adding comfort and tactility.

“Nowadays, it is possible to have high-quality upholstery fabrics made 100 per cent of up-cycled yarns from PET bottles,” said TexStyle.

“Thanks to our new recycled range and our customers, a certain amount of plastic waste is no longer ending up in nature but in beautiful interiors.”

Dolly Recycled fabric is available in the neutral shades white and natural, classic grey, black and brown, and modern old rose, as well as some more bold colours such as forest green and Bordeaux grapes.

Product: Dolly Recycled fabric
Designer: Søren Møller
Brand: TexStyle
Contact: marketing@texstyle.dk

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Global communications group WPP is creating a digital campus in computer game Minecraft featuring replicas of its offices around the world, allowing employees to visit other buildings without leaving their desks.

The “Minecraft world” will allow employees to attend events, launch projects and visit more than 19 offices, according to Colin Macgadie of BDG Architecture + Design who is helping to realise WPP’s metaverse.

“WPP is building this Minecraft world of all its campuses next to each other, all at scale and fully realised,” said Macgadie, who is BDG‘s chief creative officer.

“So it doesn’t matter what campus you’re working in globally, you can visit any of the campuses inside Minecraft.”

BDG, which is owned by WPP, has designed a number of the company’s campuses including Sea Containers House in London and an upcoming outpost in Detroit.

Speaking during a live talk broadcast from the new Dezeen Studio Space in London, Macgadie revealed that the practice is now helping to translate these buildings into a parallel virtual world, or metaverse, as part of a dedicated task force that also includes customer experience agency VMLY&R.

WPP’s Minecraft world will feature the London and Detroit buildings, as well as offices in Madrid, Jakarta, Melbourne and other locations laid out “avenue by avenue, street by street”.

“It’s not just a way of exploring the campuses but actually experiencing them in a virtual sense,” Macgadie added.

“It’s early stages but we’re now beginning to give them access to the CAD plans and the information around Sea Containers House and other buildings so you’ll be able to go street by street to different parts of the world.”

Metaverse can improve productivity and build community

The news comes after WPP revealed that only two per cent of its staff in the US and three per cent of those working in the UK had returned to their offices as of December 2020, emphasising the need for more “flexible, hybrid models of working” post-Covid.

Macgadie revealed details of the Minecraft project during a talk exploring how BDG designs office buildings that adapt to the changing needs of companies and their employees.

Minecraft has already been used by Microsoft to create a virtual version of the company’s new Washington state campus so that employees could familiarise themselves with the space.

But according to Macgadie, WPP hopes to push this idea further by using the platform as a means to improve productivity and build community while in-person interactions remain rare.

“What else can we do with this,” he posited. “How can we launch things in it? How can we run events in it? And how can we use it as more than just a communication tool?”

“It’s going to be exciting to see how they pull it off,” he added.

Technology can’t replace real-life interactions

However, Macgadie also believes it is crucial to reinvigorate physical offices post-pandemic, especially in creative sectors where effective collaboration is key.

“I think technology will make leaps and bounds, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“From our own experience of running our studio and having to continue workshops for clients, the online collaborative whiteboards we use have been fantastic but they don’t quite replace that physical collaboration.”

Minecraft is a game that allows users to build their own virtual worlds. Launched in 2011, it now has over 126 million monthly active users.

Other initiatives in the platform include a virtual library created by non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders that gives gamers access to censored books and articles, while Argentinian designer Andrés Reisinger created ten pieces of virtual furniture that can be integrated into the game.

Leading figures in digital design predict that the digital metaverse that is being built in Minecraft and other gaming and VR environments will eventually merge with the real world.

“The virtual world and the real world will integrate,” said Amber Slooten of virtual fashion studio The Fabricant.

“There will be like a virtual layer on top of the reality that you’ll be able to switch on and off,” she said during a panel talk at Dezeen’s metaverse meet-up earlier this year. “And there will be virtual worlds that you can go into.”

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Built out by YouTuber and woodwork craftsman Dekay’s Crafts, the ‘kinetic scissor door’ uses a series of folding segments to open in an absolutely eye-catching way. Most wooden doors either open on a single hinge, or a sliding rail, but Dekay’s scissor door fragments into 6 different pieces as it opens, and joins back into a flat panel when closed.

You can check out the video above to see how Dekay built out this unique ‘kinetic scissor door’, or just scroll down to see the door in action below!

The unusual door uses a total of 6 hinges that allow the door to fragment into 6 pieces and reassemble when either completely open or closed. It’s honestly one of the most pleasing little interactions I’ve seen and really gives a simple cabinet a new lease of life. The cabinet’s door sports diagonal cuts running 45° across, and from what I gather, the entire door is shaped to be a 2:1 rectangle.

Anyone familiar with Klemens Torggler’s Evolution Door from 2013 may recognize this unique format. Instead of a simple panel that swings or slides open, both Torggler’s Evolution Door and Dekay’s Scissor Door split and ‘fold’ open. There’s obviously no overarching functional benefit to such a door, but it’s definitely much more interactive and visually pleasing!

Designer: Dekay’s Crafts

Following AL_A’s reveal of the world’s first fusion development plant and rumours that BIG’s CopenHill ski slope would permanently close, Dezeen has rounded up eight power plants that are architecturally significant.

Fusion Demonstration Plant, UK by AL_A

The first of its kind in the world, this prototype power plant will be used to prove the viability of nuclear fusion technology as a carbon-free energy source.

The plant was designed by Amanda Levete’s firm AL_A and is planned to be built in Oxfordshire. Visuals depict a tubular building that envelops a reactor at its core, surrounded by a viewing gallery.

Find out more about Fusion Demonstration Plant ›

CopenHill, Denmark by BIG

Designed by architecture practice BIG, CopenHill is a waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen that is topped with an artificial ski slope.

The plant is 10 storeys tall and houses administrative space and a large education centre. It was clad in aluminium bricks that surround glazed panels that naturally illuminate the interior.

The Danish press recently speculated that the ski slope would permanently close due to the deterioration of its skiing surface, but the rumours were squashed by operator Amager Bakke.

Find out more about CopenHill ›

BEI-Teesside, UK by Heatherwick Studio

BEI-Teesside by London design studio Heatherwick Studio was planned as a biomass power station to be built on the bank of the River Tees, providing power to 50,000 homes.

With a tapering form designed to be clad in panels planted with indigenous grasses, it was intended to become a landmark on its bankside location.

Find out more about BEI-Teesside ›

Shenzhen East Waste-to-Energy Plant, China by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects and Gottlieb Paludan Architects

Danish firms Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects and Gottlieb Paludan Architects designed what is said to be the world’s largest waste-to-energy power plant in China.

The circular building was designed to have a 66,000-square-metre roof that will be mostly covered with photovoltaic panels that would allow the building to generate its own energy.

In order to keep the facility as compact as possible, the circular structure will house the entire power plant and its auxiliary buildings. The entrance to the building is marked by a winding ramp and two smokestacks.

Find out more about Shenzhen East Waste-to-Energy Plant ›

Hydroelectric plant, Canada by Atelier Pierre Thibault

Canadian architecture studio Atelier Pierre Thibault wrapped this hydroelectric plant in Quebec in vertical timber slats.

The wooden slats enclose a public walkway that surrounds the outer walls of the plant, and shelters it from the sun and snow.

The studio designed the slatted walls with the hopes that vegetation would grow between the wooden battens, allowing the structure to blend into its natural surroundings.

Find out more about Hydroelectric plant ›

The Brewery Yard, Australia by Tzannes Associates

Blanketed in zinc cladding, three towers positioned on the roof of a former beer brewery are used to supply energy to a housing and shopping complex.

The trigeneration towers, known for their ability to heat and cool water, were wrapped in moulded sheets of zinc mesh to form a curving, green-hued skin across the power station.

Find out more about The Brewery Yard ›

Energy Bunker, Germany by IBA Hamburg

Urban development company IBA Hamburg converted this second world war concrete bunker into a renewable energy plant and visitor centre.

The former bunker, which had been left unoccupied since the end of the war, was sprayed with concrete to protect and stabilise the crumbling facade.

Bomb-damaged floor plates were removed from the interior and replaced. IBA Hamburg also added a two-million-litre reservoir at its centre, which acts as a large heat buffer.

Find out more about Green power plant ›

BIO4 Unit, Copenhagen by Gottlieb Paludan Architects

Danish architecture firm Gottlieb Paludan Architects designed a tree trunk-clad structure with a golden-domed roof that houses a combined heat and power plant.

Tree trunks would clad the exterior of the building and surround a staircase that leads to a plant-filled viewing platform. With each tree trunk having a lifespan of 30-plus years, the forest-themed facade could be easily replaced when trunks become old and ground into wood chips.

In places behind the trunks, the building would be wrapped in gold metal to make it appear as though the tree trunks are glowing.

Find out more about BIO4 Unit ›

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